10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 3 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 99,193 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota 4runner. While the vehicle was in the process of a state inspection, it was discovered that the subframe was severely rusted and corroded. The vehicle was deemed unsafe to drive. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer (bairel Toyota, 19045 perry hwy, mars, pa 16046) were notified. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 107,000.
- Sewickley, PA, USA
Premature corrosion of frame vsc light on atrac system permanently disengaged
- Lexington, KY, USA
Frame is showing excessive rust. Remainder of the vehicle is in excellent shape. Engine runs great, but the frame is now in a dangerous state. Gas tank support is completely gone.
- North Providence, RI, USA
The frame is very badly rusted also to the point of being unsafe to drive
- Madison, CT, USA
My entire vehicle is rusted out completely and is not in driveable condition.
- Boise, ID, USA
My 4runner frame is showing excessive rust. The rest of the vehicle is in excellent shape and I am diligent in keeping the vehicle in good condition. Please consider my 4runner as a frame replacement candidate.
- North Providence, RI, USA
Frame has significant rusting issues. Failing connectors, heavy rust scaling of frame with one area at 3/4 failure of box frame.
- Stirling, NJ, USA
I took my vehile to ispection the frame has rust perforetion the vehicle is unsafe. That the dealers makers infection also differential housing is rusted badly/scaling.
- Hartford, CT, USA
The passenger side frame rail has rusted so badly that it has split and cracked. Absolutely crazy that the 4runners weren't included in the pervious frame recall with the Tacoma's.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
Had a mechanic look at it and pointed out a few holes in the frame of the vehicle.
- North Conway, NH, USA
My 2003 4runner has a ton of rust and the frame is rusting badly. I do not feel this vehicle is safe to drive.
- Erlanger, KY, USA
The frame of my 2003 Toyota 4runner V8 demonstrates excessive and concerning rust damage. The body is in extremely good condition and has almost zero rust, a stark contrast against the frame. The frame has rust damage heavily on the lower radiator support, a 8" long spot on the bottom of the frame directly behind the transmission crossmember on the passenger side, and by the driver's side rear lower trailing arm mount. These areas of rust damage cause me to be concerned for the safety of the vehicle in the long term. The vehicle has only 180K miles, which should leave many years of enjoyable Toyota ownership for me, if only the frame was still in half as good of shape as the body. I understand that Toyota has recently done frame replacements for other similar vehicles, and I do not understand why they would not do at least something for the 4runner. Living in Michigan I always expect some rust on a 15 year old vehicle, but this is certainly excessive. I have started to use por15 rust coating to hopefully slow the rot so that the vehicle may remain safe to drive for a few more years, but I am highly disappointing none the less. I had expected this on my previous vehicle, a Nissan with open recalls for excessive rusting, but I had faith that this Toyota 4runner would not have these issues since Toyota has historically been good about making things right where rusty frames are concerned. Clearly not in this case. This does genuinely have an impact on my likelihood to purchase a new Toyota in the future, as rust is a nightmare to deal with and I don't intend to risk having to again, unless I see some signs that Toyota will help where there was clearly some kind of mistake.
- Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Recall: Structure of truck. I have 2003 Toyota 4 runner that is rusting real bad. The structure frame is loosing a lot of rust. I have even have at least 3 wholes in my passenger side frame under my truck. I see many other people are having this issue. I would like to see someone look into to see why this is happening and take action because I feel this will become a serous safety issue to people who are having this issue with the structure rusting of the truck. I just had my vehicle at the dealer for warranty work and nothing was noted on the final checkout paper work about the serous issue with the rust. My vehicle is driven for daily use no off tossing or crazy activities with my vehicle. We even wash our vehicle regularly doing the winter months.... I see they have did a structure recall to ( Toyota Tacoma, Tundra, and sequios. I am really surprised how this is happening to tony vehicle. Please note this has been a issue for awhile with the truck with rusting it just did not start.
- Clinton, MD, USA
Frame is badly rusted. After a minor accident, the body shop stated they were unable to weld in a replacement crossmember due to excessive rust. I understand Toyota has recalled frames of similar vehicles but not 4runners.
- Peoria, IL, USA
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota 4runner. The contact stated that the dashboard was cracked. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to mount airy Toyota (508 N andy griffith pkwy, mount airy, nc 27030, (336) 786-2118), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer informed the contact that the extended warranty expired on May 31, 2017 and provided case number: 1808210330. The failure mileage was 164,000. The VIN was not available.
- Galax, VA, USA
My 4runner has parts of the structure with above average rust. That frame element intended to hold the skid plate on is completely rusting through. For fear of safety performance issues in the event of a collision I refuse to drive my family in this vehicle. In one instance a steel piece designed to stabilize the muffler popped off it's weld while I was driving, causing a potentially dangerous situation to the cars around me. I was driving down a hill to my near my home at the time.
- Salt Lake City, UT, USA
While driving to work on August 22, 2018 my power steering suddenly gave out while turning making the vehicle difficult to maneuver. Luckily, I was on city streets and only doing 30 mph. The next day I took the car to the mechanic to have that fixed along with an oil change and other normal maintenance. The mechanic called me and informed me that he found that my frame has significant corrosion to the point that the frame would most likely fail in the next few months. He also informed me that the power steering had failed due to corrosion, and since the frame and other components that needed to be removed to access the power steering were so rusted the labor needed for the repair would be significantly higher. This increased cost put the repair above the salvage value of the vehicle. My otherwise wonderful vehicle has been rendered useless because of the frame corrosion. I fear to think what could have happened if this failed on the highway while my pregnant wife and infant son were in the car with me.
- Elkhart, IN, USA
I took my 2003 4runner in for its routine oil change and the technician informed me my car was unsafe to drive do to excessive rust and corrosion on the frame. My vehicle is in perfect visual condition. I believe this is a major safety concern.
- Coventry, RI, USA
The frame of my vehicle is suffering from extreme and premature corrosion and rusting. There is signifiant rotting due to rust and corrosion on parts of the frame. Although no incident has yet to occur, I fear an unsafe incident could occur while driving due to the corrosion and rust of the vehicle's frame.
- Yankton, SD, USA
- Flushing, NY, USA